YOU THINK IT’S HOT NOW!?

Scripture: “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerors, and idolators, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. Revelation 21:8

Review By: Jason Felton

Over the last month we’ve been taking a look at the spiritual warfare we are involved in on a daily basis. Everyday there is a war going on for your soul and the souls of everyone around you. We reviewed everything from how the enemy tries to attack us to what we are fighting for. In this post we want to take a look at the consequences of not fighting for ourselves and the people around us and what happens if we give up in this spiritual warfare. Let me tell you something beloved, the consequences are worse than anything you could imagine!

If you’ve been living on the east coast the past few weeks, you’ve probably been experiencing the summer heatwave. I know in the dc area (where this blog is based) we’ve had almost two straight weeks of temps 90 or above. Well, this week I want to talk about a place that’s hotter than any heatwave you’ve ever experienced and that place is called Hell!And unlike the relief you can get here on earth, in Hell there are no water parks, swimming pools, shady spots, or even cold glasses of water!

I once had a person say that they were basically going to throw a party to celebrate the devil. They were going to have devil’s food cake, deviled eggs etc… Basically saying that hell and the devil are one big joke. Other people say “I’m going to party with my buddies in hell. I can’t wait. It’s going to be awesome!!” Let me tell you something folks. There is NOTHING that is awesome about hell. Hell, is a place of literal, spiritual fire in the spirit realm and it will last forever. In Matthew 13:50 the Bible says that Hell is a place where there will be weeping, and wailing and gnashing of teeth. Mark 9 says it’s a place where the worm dies not and the fire is never quenched. Unlike the bar in “Cheers,” Hell will be a place where nobody will know your name. You will be a totally forgotten being. You will be aware of everyone, but won’t care for anyone. And no one will care for you. It will be a place where NOBODY will hear your screams and cries for help. Sound like a party yet? Well maybe it hasn’t started. Let’s continue.

In Luke 16:19-31 Jesus tells the parable of the rich man and a beggar named Lazarus. You can check it out if you get a chance; but long story short the rich man who had everything here on earth except Jesus, died was buried and went to hell. Maybe this is where the party starts? Let’s look. In verse 23 it says that the rich man while drinking and hanging out with his buddies… Oh wait that’s not what it says. It says while he was looking up from hell in torment, he pleaded and begged for mercy. In verse 24 it says that it was so hot in the flames that he was begging for just a single drop of water for temporary relief. Anything to quench the flames!! Finally in verse 28 we see that not only was Hell a place that he wanted to escape from, but he pleaded that somebody be sent to warn his brothers to change their ways so they could escape this place of eternal torment. So we’ve looked at several scriptures now, but we’ve found no mention of a party.

“Well thank God I’m a pretty good person!” Unfortunately there’s a lot of pretty good people going to hell. Did you see that video above? Those are some scary statistics about the reality of Hell!! “Yeah, but I’m not a murderer, rapist, or anything like that. In fact I haven’t committed adultery or done anything remotely bad.” Well for those of you who say that I ask you to take a look at Revelation 21:8. We see here that not only are the “really bad people” going to hell, but it also says liars, idolaters, and as a matter of fact ANYBODY who doesn’t believe God and His Word (in totality)!

People often say” Well God’s a God of love and mercy. He wouldn’t do anything like that.” Or maybe you’ve asked this question, “How can a good God send man to the hell that you’re depicting?” Man was never intended to go to Hell, but the Bible teaches that Hell was created for the devil and his angels. Unfortunately, because of the pride and rebellion of man Hell is now open to us as well. Hell, is for anybody that is a rebel and who exalts their own will above the will of God (Luke 12:5-9). Before you question the justice of God, first understand the condition of man. Every good thing we have is a free gift of God. It is neither deserved or earned. He is a God of love and mercy, but He cannot go contrary to who He is and suffer iniquity and rebellion to his sovereign being.

It is just for every man to be judged and cast into hell and Romans says every one of us has the knowledge of God within ourselves and are without excuse. Thank God though that He has done everything to keep man from going to Hell. Remember John 3:16? God loved the world so much that He gave his only son, that whosever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. The good news is that God is not willing that any would perish (2 Peter 3:9). However, you cannot come in your own righteousness. There is only one way you can come and that is through the finished work of Jesus. The free gift of God’s love and forgiveness is available to you today. No one who comes and repents before Him with a broken heart will be rejected (Psalm 51:17). The price has been paid!!

Friends, do not fall for the lies of the devil. The devil has already been sentenced to eternal damnation, and his number one goal it to take you down with him. He will tell you hell’s not that bad. He will tell you you’re too good of a person to go to hell. He will tell you that God would never send man to hell because He’s too nice. Folks those are all lies that Satan wants you to believe so you can join him in eternal suffering. Hell is very real and all those who don’t have Jesus as the Lord of their life will find themselves in that lake of fire. So as we end today, ask yourselves these questions! “If you died today where would you end up?” If your answer to the first question is heaven, because you’re born again then the next question would be, “What am I doing to warn others around me?”